The present invention relates generally to device positioning services, and more particularly to services for positioning a wireless local area network (LAN) device.
Until recently, computer networks required substantial lengths of cabling and large hardware components. Installation of this infrastructure was not only expensive but also tied network users to the locations of their nearest network connections. Modern advances in communications, processing speed and miniaturization have allowed the development of partially or fully wireless networks that alleviate many of the drawbacks of prior computer networks.
One example of a wireless network is a cellular telephone network such as a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) telephone network. Another type of wireless network is a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) governed by the IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, ETSI BRAN HiperLAN/2, and other wireless LAN standards. Conveniently, such a wireless LAN is capable of interfacing with a standard LAN (IEEE 802.3) and can therefore be added to existing wired computer networks. Wireless networks may be accessed by traditional network devices such as desktop computers equipped with a wireless network adapter. However, the core advantages of wireless networks are particularly exploited when they are used in conjunction with mobile devices.
Mobile devices for use with wireless networks are becoming ubiquitous. Leading this trend is the cellular telephone. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has mandated that, due to their ubiquity, a cellular telephone network operator must be capable of providing safety authorities with the position of a cellular telephone that has placed a call to 9-1-1 using its network. Standards are currently being developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP TS 43.059) to address this mandate.
Although not yet as prevalent as cellular telephones, the low cost of mobile computing devices and wireless LAN adapters has resulted in dramatic increases in the number of wirelessly networkable devices that are currently deployed. The number of wireless access points to which these devices may connect to a wired LAN is also increasing. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide services that determine a location of wireless devices connected to a wireless LAN. Some current products such as the Ekahau Positioning Engine™ attempt to address this need.
______ What is needed, however, is a system to provide positioning of a wireless LAN device in a more efficient manner than is currently available.